sparkling in the moonlight
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: "Hello, Ms Patil. My name is Theodore Nott and I am to be your bodyguard." [AU, Gangsters, Prohibition Era, Implied Self Mutilation]


**For _Fire The Canon_ , I hope you like it! I have no idea how this happened.**

 **Word Count: 848**

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 _ **sparkling in the moonlight**_

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The house wasn't the same to her anymore. It was a sad thing to realize, but nevertheless, it was the truth.

Without Parvati, the whole world was different, so why on earth would the house they grew up in be exempt of that?

It wasn't that Parvati had died or anything, no. She was still alive and well. It was simply that her marriage last week not only took her away from the family, but was rather dangerous as well.

However, when their father tried to explain his concerns, Parvati has simply waved him away.

"I'm sorry if it upsets you, but I'm going to marry Lavender," she had said. "I love her and she loves me. And that, honestly is all we need."

Her twin wasn't wrong with that per se. Parvati and Lavender made a good couple, they had so many similar interests, and anyone could see that they were head over heels in love with each other. It was just that Lavender's family was involved in some shady business and the couple wasn't even trying to get out.

It was an open secret that they were moonshiners, that they violated the prohibition by brewing and selling their own illegal alcohol and were thus deeply involved in organized crime. The only reason why they weren't arrested was likely because the policemen were among their customers as well. But if someone who actually believed in the government were to be relocated into the area, it would look pretty dark for the family.

But in the end, it was still her sister's choice and Padma shouldn't have anything to say about it.

There was a sudden knock on the door that jerked her out of her thoughts. Since her father was currently at work, Padma was home alone, so she moved to open the door.

The man standing there was tall, dark—in both skin and aura—and unfairly handsome.

"Hello, Ms Patil. My name is Theodore Nott and I am to be your bodyguard."

"My bodyguard?"

"Since your sister is now a part of the family, you are as well," Nott explained. "To our knowledge you have no skills to defend yourself in case of an attack. And since Madam Lavender is the only child of the boss and her having children is not currently considered a likely possibility, the next heiress in line would be your sister and then you."

"I'm sorry, what? What about any uncles or cousins?" Padma questioned.

"Nonexistent," Nott replied. "The Brown family has only produced one child in a couple of generations."

"Do I want to know why children are considered unlikely? As far as I am aware, they do possess all the necessary… equipment."

Nott winced. "Let us just say not anymore and leave it like that, shall we? Maybe add that that was what convinced the boss to simply let her be…?"  
Padma didn't need to hear any more details to understand.

"You mean she…? Oh my God." She placed a hand over her mouth.

Nott simply nodded. A minute passed before he continued to speak. "May I come in now? This conversation has long since passed the point where it would be appropriate to take it inside, I think."

"Oh, erm, yes, alright." Padma stepped aside to let Nott through and closed the front door behind him. This entire situation was so weird that she took a moment to stand there and take a deep breath before she followed him into the living room. She assumed that Parvati had told him where it was, because he didn't look around or ask for the directions or anything.

"So, you're my bodyguard now?" Padma said eventually to restart the conversation. "What exactly does that mean?"

"It basically means that I will—for all intents and purposes—become your second shadow if or until you not only decide to take lessons in self defense and the boss judges your skills as adequate enough to defend yourself. Unless you get to that point, I will always be in your general area, but it is your choice if I am keeping a relative distance or stay by your side," Nott explained.

"Is that really necessary?" Padma complained. "Surely I can't be in that much danger."

"You're underestimating the number of enemies the boss has," Nott deadpanned. "Believe me, this will happen either way and it will only be better for all of us if you play along."

"Shouldn't you pay attention to my sister?"

Nott gave her a look that clearly showed that he wasn't impressed with Padma's question. "She has her own bodyguards. I would have thought that to be obvious."

"Well, I guess it is, but cut me some slack here. It's not like I had any contact with all of this before." She gestured to all of him as she said that. "I'm not stupid, but I need to understand the rules before I can work with them."

"Rules are made to be broken." Nott snorted.

"I think you mean laws with that. Because I can't imagine you going against you boss's orders."

"Touche."


End file.
